Verulamians were made to work hard for their 23-20 victory at bottom of the table Hitchin.
The result of this game was in doubt until the final 10 minutes when Vees Sam Allen slotted over the winning penalty.
Until then and particularly in the first half Hitchin took the fight to Vees and denied them both possession and territory.
Had it not been for Vees resolute defence Vees would have faced a far larger deficit at half time than the 12-7 they turned round with.
Only an electric burst from Allen brought any points in the first half but plenty of grit in the second half brought the win.
Allen added another penalty and a try out of the blue by Chris Gillespie made it 17-17 with 20 minutes to go.
Both teams lost players to yellow cards and as the error count grew, the sides traded penalties before Allen was presented with another kick that he sent between the uprights.
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